The mobile data world does not begin beyond the doorstep, but at home in your own Wi-Fi network. Stable, powerful connections are vital here for the best possible user experience. During Mobile World Congress, devolo will be exhibiting innovative solutions which enable network operators to offer optimal Wi-Fi coverage in the home.
These solutions, which will be shown at stand 6N40 in Hall 6, give devolo’s customers the freedom to move from one room to another without any connection problems. The combination of a Powerline-based backbone and intelligent Smart Wi-Fi functions guarantee high service quality and increases customer satisfaction.
At present, one of the main challenges for network operators is to reduce the number of service cases and optimise their own Net Promoter Score. That’s because customers are increasingly integrating mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets in their Wi-Fi networks.
Cisco estimates, for example, that the share of smartphones in Internet traffic will more than double by 2021 compared with 2017. Since the majority of smartphones are also used at home, the demands on the wireless home network rise considerably. Often this cannot keep pace with the desire for broadband. In order to strengthen the customer relationship, network operators should therefore actively offer users a solution which sets up an efficient home network for customers – and ensures maximum performance.
Intelligent combination of Powerline and Smart Wi-Fi functions
The key to this is firstly devolo’s dLAN Powerline adapters which are utilised millions of times by network operators and private customers. Powerline adapters use a household’s electrical circuit to transmit data and therefore bring the Internet to every power outlet. Secondly, Smart Wi-Fi will soon solve typical Wi-Fi problems.
To achieve this, devolo technology combines the core functions of Airtime Fairness, Wi-Fi Roaming and Band Steering. Airtime Fairness assigns an equal amount of transmission time to all Wi-Fi Devices, thus preventing slow devices from blocking Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi Roaming ensures that devices are always automatically connected to the strongest access point instead of “sticking” to one access point. The devolo adapters also use Band Steering to flexibly select the right channel and “push” devices either into the 2.4 or 5 GHz frequency band.
Home networking and mobile communications trends speeding up the pace of innovation
“For many people, home Wi-Fi is just as important as a water or power supply. It has to work, always and everywhere,” said Werner Fehn, vice president Product Management at devolo. “The trend towards mobile use of increasingly more broadband-intensive services such as streaming or online games is also speeding up the pace of innovation.”
devolo regards Smart Wi-Fi as a step towards self-optimising networks which, in future, will automatically perform all tasks ranging from setup through to troubleshooting.
The objective of many operators to handle data transmission via Wi-Fi (offloading) underscores the importance of efficient, seamless Wi-Fi coverage. According to Cisco, mobile data transmission worldwide will increase annually by an average of 46% by 2021. Fast 5G networks also represent challenges in regard to exponential data growth.
It is therefore all the more important to switch data transmission from the mobile radio network to home Wi-Fi where possible. “However, customers will only watch their UHD video at home if everything runs smoothly,” said Werner Fehn. “This is only possible in a Wi-Fi network which can satisfy these demands.”
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